Athletics Nursery Programme gets underway

Story and photos by Jemima Holmes

Track and field is the latest sport in Guyana to have an official Academy programme, with the nursery being launched on Sunday at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
The Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry, in the past few weeks and months, has launched a number of nursery programmes for the respective academies across several sport disciplines, which include table tennis, badminton, squash, and volleyball.

Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr interacts with members of the Athletics Nursery on Sunday

Addressing more than 150 athletes on Sunday, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr emphasised the importance of athletics, as part of Guyana’s 12 core sports.
“Athletics is a firm part of all of the sports that we do in the country and it’s the foundation for all sports. And it’s a foundation for all sports – how fast you are, how high you can jump, it forms part of all sport disciplines,” Ramson Jr shared with the children.

A young man works on his javelin throw after the commencement of the Academy

He went on to add, about the fuel that is driving the Academy, “I’d like to take the opportunity, as well, here to let you know that this is being done in collaboration with the National Sports Commission [NSC]. In fact, the National Sports Commission has been given a directive of taking lead on the implementation for the National Sports Academy.”
“The Ministry is giving the support, the Ministry is giving the direction, but the National Sports Commission is the one that is taking the lead on behalf of the Government of Guyana.”
Citing the number of young talents seen during his current tenure as Sport Minister, Ramson Jr highlighted the need for the Academy programme, so as to create an avenue for the fostering of Guyana’s potential in sports.
He explained, “The reason why that’s important is because sport needs to aggressively transform. It needs to aggressively transform, because we have a lot of talent in the country; it has the potential for taking young people, all of you, to be internationally competitive.”

Another youngster takes a leap at the long jump under the watchful eyes of Coach Julian Edmonds

He went on to add, “But without having this vehicle to streamline the talent, provide this support and the platform to take you to that level of being able to compete with international athletes, we’re never going to have this structured environment that creates that pool of talent, from which we can choose from.”
“That’s why I’m happy that we’re starting so young.”
On the other hand, NSC Board Member and President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), Cristy Campbell touched on the continuity that the NSC intended to uphold with regard to the Academy.
“I hope you’re prepared for the long haul, because this Academy does not stop here. And what makes it even better is that the athletes just have to show up, everything is funded by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and by extension, the Government of Guyana,” Campbell told the Athletics Academy’s participants.
“Your only job is to show up and train and it puts you in a position to transition to the elite programme which is also part of this academy,” she further stated.
Following the opening ceremony, the budding athletes in the Athletics Academy were split into groups where they were introduced to various aspects of track and field, specifically javelin, long jump, and track.